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Solovh Campaign
The Solovh Campaign, part of the Servan Independence War, was the battle to liberate Solovh from the control of the Human Domain by Grand Battlemaster Avbek, loyal to the Dual Confederacy. Solovh saw the largest combat between conventional ground forces in the entire war. Many cities were contested, and sieges carried out. The Aquatic Corps from both armies played an important role, and atmospheric craft fought for air supremacy, something the Servans were quick to lose. Events Planetfall Avbek's planetfall was along the coast of Solovh Superior, some ~400 kilometers from Solovhkr itself. Four aquatic craft, each displacing about 15,000 tons, were deployed in the sea and skirmished with Tritach armed supply ships which were en-route from Escalo to Tiberias to supply the Tritach troops stationed there. Tiberias, a Tritach stronghold to the south, was the primary objective for the Servan forces. Their goal was to lay waste to the predominantly corporate-populated city, and in order to do this, they had to cut off the vital sea-lanes which supplied the city and its garrison. To the north, Escalo, loyal to the Human Domain, was much less influential, but was nonetheless to be laid siege to and liberated as a secondary objective. The final objective, of course, was to capture the planet's capital with minimal collateral damage or civilian casualties, expelling Domain and corporate influence from Solovh. Tritach mobilized any combat-suitable aquatic ships to defend the sealanes and harass the Servan position, which was in a flurry of activity as the confederates set up a defensive position to hold off any land attacks while the rest of the troops arrived and organized from orbit. Opening Moves To probe the Servan defenses, battalions of Enforcers launched attacks against the perimeter in two separate spots. The attack was to be headed by 13,000 Venusian mercenaries in assault gunships, supported by self-propelled artillery and fast attack 'Skirmisher' forces from Tritach. These attacks were to coincide with the naval efforts, so that the Servan ships couldn't support their troops with bombardment from off-shore. The Venusians and Tritach believed that brute force through shock and awe would break the Servans, as the Confederate Army was lackluster in terms of discipline. 27,000 Venusian and Tritach troops smacked into 54,700 confederate pathfinders, who by this point had established a premature defensive perimeter to hold off any such attacks for as long as possible so the rest of the army could arrive. Despite expecting an attack, the Servans were caught off guard and were slow to react. An hour later, another 15,000 Tritach troops in fast-attack vehicles smashed into the Servans' northwest flank just as the first front was starting to get under control. Through liberal usage of laser weapons, constant shelling from artillery and the seemingly unending onslaught of Venusian gunships, Servan troops panicked in blindness and confusion. Officers desperately tried to restore order and were marginally successful, holding the perimeter to the best of their ability. The increasingly confident Tritach vehicles soon stumbled into a minefield. Despite being anti-personnel mines, many of the light vehicles were disabled and were well within range of Confederate anti-armour dumbfires. They were subsequently dispatched by the same, and this re-instilled a degree of confidence in the Servan forces, and the Tritach skirmishers briefly withdrew to regroup. Their damage had been done, though - many confederate soldiers were blinded or wounded if not dead, and certainly exhausted. They'd be no help in the rest of the battle for a few hours while they recuperate, and Tritach was ready to launch more pincer attacks once their vehicles had reorganized. Impressed by the mines, their commander called for a platoon of minesweepers to be sent. Meanwhile, Venusian gunships were too much for the west flank. They unloaded into the confederate infantry with dumbfire racks, automatic grenade launchers and rotary cannons, and were relatively safe from any confederate retaliation thanks to the expertise of their pilots and the efficacy of their active defense systems. The artillery bombardment from Tritach wasn't helping, either, and Servan artillery hadn't arrived yet. Hearing the desperate calls for help from the ground, the Servan fleet in orbit dispatched atmosphere-capable drones to strike the enemy gunships from above. They swooped down, launched air-to-air missiles against the gunships and spitting a few bursts of coil-cannon before abruptly turning aside to send fusion warheads into the incoming Venusian ground forces, and then swiftly turning back only to be pursued by a scramble of Tritach interceptors, who were sent out as soon as the Servan fighters were detected in re-entry. The ensuing air duel was devastating to both squadrons who took heavy losses before the Servans were forced to withdraw from the airspace. Nonetheless, their damage was done, with around 15 enemy interceptors grounded and most the enemy gunships. The trade-off, was, however, around 40 of their own number. The remaining Venusian gunships retreated, but artillery bombardment continued and Tritach soldiers prepared to execute an elastic defense along the route to Tiberias with their fast-attack vehicles on full alert. Off the coast, a battle had occurred between Servan and Tritach vessels which was indecisive, but it served the purpose of distracting Servan ships from supporting the land forces. Tritach ships shadowed the coast and awaited reinforcements and aerial support. Road to Tiberias Tritach's defeat Road to Escalo Legacy Category:Battles Category:Ground battles